Bomb threats at hundreds of Italian schools: Fear and disruption from north to south

A threatening email sent to hundreds of schools across Italy led to the precautionary evacuation on Wednesday morning of the schools that received the message. Students, teachers, and administrative staff were evacuated from the buildings while police, Carabinieri, and bomb squads immediately began searching the premises. At this time, there have been no explosions or injuries, but investigations are still ongoing.

The alarm was triggered by an email signed by Mikhail Andropov, a self-proclaimed “leader of the Vilajat of Misoginistan”: the message was sent to principals and schools in several cities, containing a threatening text that mentioned explosive devices hidden in school buildings. The message also contained threats directed at government institutions and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The messages were sent from an email address with a foreign university domain. Law enforcement is working to determine the credibility of the reports—initially deemed low—and to trace the messages’ true origin. Precautionary measures have nevertheless been implemented, affecting schools at all levels, from elementary schools to high schools and technical institutes. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, about twenty schools were affected, with evacuations in Trieste, Gorizia, Monfalcone, Udine, and Pordenone.

In Veneto as well, the incident affected numerous school complexes, particularly in the areas of Venice, Mestre, Mirano, Scorzè, and Vicenza. In Lombardy, more than twenty schools in the province of Varese were evacuated, with coordinated efforts by the police and the Carabinieri. Alarms were also sounded in Rome, Genoa, Modena, Pescara, Naples, and several provinces in Tuscany, including Florence, Arezzo, Lucca, Siena, and Pisa. In some cities, students were escorted out of the buildings and directed to safe areas.

In Pescara, the evacuation involved the Giovanni D’Annunzio Classical High School, located in the heart of the city and attended by approximately 1,200 students. The students left the building accompanied by teachers, while police patrol cars, K-9 units, and bomb squads arrived on the scene to conduct security checks. The school had just participated, the previous day, in one of the evacuation drills required by the safety protocol. This time, however, the emergency was not simulated but stemmed from a report that needed to be verified.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto commented on the incidents, describing them as part of a strategy aimed at sowing fear among the population. “The police work precisely to distinguish serious incidents from those that are the product of mythomaniacs, who will become increasingly common because, unfortunately, the mother of fools is always pregnant,” he stated on the sidelines of an institutional event.

Meanwhile, the education sector is calling for greater guarantees regarding school safety. The Lazio High School Students’ Network has called for government action: “It is inconceivable that a simple email could sow panic across the entire peninsula,” reads an official statement from the student union, which also announced that it will continue to monitor the situation ahead of the student strike scheduled for November 20.

Cleanup and inspection operations are continuing at the affected schools. Until the inspections are completed, some schools may remain closed or implement enhanced security measures. Authorities urge the public not to panic, but also not to underestimate the reports: every report is treated as potentially credible until proven otherwise. In the meantime, families and students are urged to follow the instructions of school administrators and law enforcement.